5:31 PM: The Wild officially announced both recalls.
4:56 PM: With veteran defenseman Jared Spurgeon expected to miss some time, the Wild are expected to bring up a blueliner from the minors. However, it appears it won’t be David Jiricek as expected. Instead, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Carson Lambos, one of their top prospects, will get the nod and be brought up from AHL Iowa.
The 21-year-old was a first-round pick of Minnesota back in 2021, going 26th overall. Lambos was a productive defender at the junior level, putting up 95 points in 112 games with WHL Winnipeg after being drafted. However, that production hasn’t carried over to the pros. After putting up 14 points in 69 games last season, Lambos is on a similar pace this year with five points in his first 27 appearances.
Nonetheless, this should be a good chance for the Wild to evaluate Lambos and assess his NHL readiness. With the trade deadline coming up in a couple of months and Minnesota among the stronger teams in the league, they’ll likely be wanting to shore up their back end at some point. Having a better understanding on what Lambos can do at the top level will only help determine what they might want to do.
Meanwhile, Russo adds (Twitter link) that veteran forward Brendan Gaunce is also set to be recalled from Iowa, taking the place of Kirill Kaprizov who landed on IR today. The 30-year-old has played in four games with Minnesota this season, logging just under ten minutes a night but has been held without a point. Gaunce has been productive in the minors, however, tallying 11 goals and six assists in 22 games; three of those goals came just last night.
Not playing Jiricek makes zero sense unless he’s injured.